Abstract

The concept of legal transaction was formulated by German jurists under the influence of some factors. At the beginning，this concept was defined as “declaration of intent” or the act based on the “declaration of intent”. Although this definition was the mainstream view，it is challenged constantly by scholars due to its defects and to a certain extent it should not be regarded as the only way to understand the concept of legal transaction. Therefore，different new theories have been formulated to redefine the concept of legal transaction. Among these，the normological theory is more precise. According to the normological theory，the legal transaction is the act taken by a civil subject to regulate his interests in the relationship with others. Legal transaction has the normological nature，which is theoretically supported by the opinion of Hans Kelsen，and practically proven by the relationship with law. The confirmation of this nature is so significant that can represent the value of legal transaction more evidently. In the definition of legal transaction，there are two kinds of competence：the competence of individual is to determine the content of legal transaction，while the competence of law is to determine the effect of legal transaction. Furthermore，in this definition the issues of autonomy and control should also be considered. The private autonomy is the foundation of legal transaction，but the law and social custom will control the autonomic act in order to avoid damages to public interests. In Chinese laws，the terminology of “legal transaction” should be adopted，and should be defined on the basis of the normological theory.

Key Words：Concept of Legal Transaction；the Theory of “Declaration of Intent”；the Normological Theory